User blog:Derekoe/DmC: Devil May Cry Knowledge Primer
This will be updated as more info becomes available. Last update January 10th This blog is to act as a primer for anything and everything for DmC: Devil May Cry. Everything contained within are elements that are known from watching gameplay streams, reading interviews, and otherwise paying attention. The info is usually linked somewhere within this article or from specific articles I link to. Since this is on the Devil May Cry Wikia, there will be a copious amount of links to different articles on the wiki, which can and should be followed for more in-depth looks at what is talked about to get a much greater understanding of the game and its concepts. This blog is for anyone who has wanted to know more about the game, or anyone who is skeptical of what it has to offer, but hasn't immediately written it off. This blog isn't meant to be biased one way or another, despite my interest in the game, and primarily serves to better inform those interested in learning more, and give more insight into some of the reasons people should or shouldn't be concerned. In the end though, it's all up to your own judgment. What Is DmC: Devil May Cry As people should know by now, DmC: Devil May Cry (hereafter DmC) is the next installment in the Devil May Cry franchise, which was announced at TGS 2010 . However, there are a few key differences between this new game and the older games of the "classic Devil May Cry" series (hereafter DMC), as well as many similarities that hold true to what has been referred to as the franchise's "DNA," or core gameplay elements . This new DmC has been sourced to Ninja Theory (hereafter NT) by Capcom, who chose to find a more occidental approach to game development, attempting to "Westernize" the more explicitly Japanese-like game. NT was chosen primarily because Capcom wanted to place more emphasis on narrative and the story presentation, rather than go with another "antagonist seeks to open portal to the underworld" shtick that lies at the core of all the classic DMC stories. At the same time, DmC will be taking another pass at Dante's origins, but instead of adhering to the existing canon of DMC, this game will be building upon the story of an alternate universe. As such, whatever DmC does with its own world and the franchise's heritage, has absolutely no effect whatsoever on the classic DMC canon. The best way to think of how DmC fits within the larger DMC franchise is to think of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, which was an at times extremely different take on certain elements of the Batman formula. If you go into the game not expecting so much of the classic DMC, you'll be surprised by the similarities or nods to the classics, while being a bit more receptive of the new things that DmC is doing. No one should be thinking that NT is completely responsible for the direction DmC is taking, as well, because it was Capcom's directive to make a contrasting game in the franchise, and they gave those guidelines to NT. Originally, Dante's design more closely resembled his classic look, but Capcom wished for something more different. Even then, while the look is different, that "franchise DNA" is still there, and was a main focus of development. Throughout development, NT and Capcom have also had monthly meetings where they play through the most current build of the game, take notes, make suggestions and tweak what they feel could be tweaked. DmC's development has been less of sending the franchise off to NT to make their own game, and much more of a collaboration between NT and Capcom, where NT is given free reign over what they do best (narrative and presentation), while Capcom was given control over how to help NT develop the combat. Primarily, DmC is being written by NT's creative director Tameem Antoniades, who is also receiving oversight and guidance on the script by Alex Garland, who worked on the story of NT's previous game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. While the game is set in its own universe to construct its own narrative, it draws heavily from many familiar Devil May Cry themes. One specific feature that NT is working on is the exceedingly detailed motion capturing being done for cutscenes. Utilizing the same technology from James Cameron's Avatar, the actors whose motions are being captured are those who are also voicing the characters, and who each character's face is modeled after. In order to achieve this, special head-mounted cameras are used to record the actor's facial expressions during performance, owing to a more authentic marriage of speech and expression. What's different? Of course, since this is not only a new game but essentially a different take on the series, there are a few changes. The most pronounced of which is the art direction, which paints the world in a more contemporary gothic-style using street art to accentuate the game's overall theme of "rebellion," much like that of the late 70s and early 80s with punk rock movements. While punk displayed rebellion using song, Dante displays his rebellion with action and fighting. Story & Setting As stated previously, DmC takes place in an alternate universe, and therefore, many things are justifiably different with the game's story and how certain characters are portrayed. DmC's setting is Limbo City, a metropolis that is secretly being controlled by demons, who manipulate humanity through the comforts of life. Existing parallel to the real world is the dimension Limbo, where demons enact their plans and make use of their demonic magic. Dante is a young outcast who lives on the fringes of society, thanks to the demonic forces that have consistently made his life a living hell from the moment his family was torn apart at a young age. Bounced around to many demon-run institutions, Dante was abused repeatedly for his lineage, that of the son of a demon father and an angel mother, making him what is referred to in-game as a "Nephilim." Because of this, the normal nonchalant and cocky Dante we know from the classic series also has a lot more anger for the demons that ruined his life, and acts with a bit of irreverence as well. Over 9000 years prior to DmC, Mundus came to power over the demonic hordes with help from Sparda, and now controls Limbo City and its oblivious populace. However, a group of rebels known as The Order have had it out for the demons for quite a while, constantly trying to reveal to humanity the invisible hand that controls them. Led by Dante's long-lost brother Vergil, The Order recruits Dante because he alone possesses a gene that allows him to enter Limbo and fight the demons directly. With Dante's help, The Order goes on the offensive, attacking demon-controlled facilities to help break their hold on the city. Of note is the fact that while this is a retelling of Dante's origins, it actually takes place prior to even events like that of DMC3, where Dante had just begun his demon-hunting business. In DmC, Dante hasn't even achieved full control over the powers he has yet, and hasn't yet found his purpose. DmC could be seen as the major events that spark Dante to become a demon hunter, protecting humanity from all manner of evil, like we know of. Because this is an alternate universe where characters grew up with different lives and went through various circumstances different from the classic series, many of the characters have subtly different personality traits that go along with their "classic character." NT retained as much of a character's personality as possible, but some things have changed simply because of the circumstances that have brought the characters to where they are. Many have alleged that Tameem Antoniades, Ninja Theory's creative director on DmC, inserted himself in the game because of Dante's initial design in the TGS 2012 trailer. He has gone on record saying nothing of the sort happened, and the claim holds less water now that Dante is modeled after Tim Phillipps, who is playing Dante. It's most likely that the original design was simply a placeholder to show off the new setting and design before the actor was signed on and facial modeling was completed. People also worried over Dante's smoking habit, but Tameem has said he has "quit" since the announcement trailer. Various locations have been seen in the game, taking Dante to more contemporary settings while he battles the demons. The dev teams' goal was to deliver a DMC experience that wasn't simply set against static backdrops like antiquated castles, and actively focused on making Limbo City's locations as if it were also a character. Some of the areas seen are... *A carnival pier near Dante's trailer *An area of debris over the ocean, where giant chains stretch out towards a large structure in the distance, accessed via Blue Roses *Virility warehouse and factory *A cityscape and cathedral *An area filled with spinning cogs and gears *a subway system and its terminal *An upside-down overpass and penitentiary, and subsequently Bob Barbas' "newsroom" *Lilith's nightclub *A stretch of highway where an exchange seems to take place *A mansion that was Dante's boyhood home, before the death of his family *Metropolis alleyways and buildings These '''are not' all of the areas'' set to appear in the game, and there are still more yet to be revealed through trailers and gameplay. Because of its more contemporary feel, Dante's missions will take him all across Limbo City while subverting Mundus' hold. Controls & Gameplay Features Gameplay has always been at the core of any Devil May Cry experience, and that gameplay has always accentuated lots of crazy combat, switching between weapons on-the-fly to create near-endless combos and reach a high Style Ranking for greater payouts. The controls have always been really tight and the scheme was easy enough to use once you got the hang of it. This, is the control scheme for DmC... / = Gun Attack / = Melee Attack / = Special Attack / = Jump / or / = Dodge (Can be done in midair) / = Angel Shift / = Devil Shift Left Stick= Move Character Right Stick= Move Camera L3 + R3= Devil Trigger D-Pad Up= Change Gun D-Pad Left= Change Angel Weapon D-Pad Right = Change Demon Weapon NOTE: You can also completely change the key configuration to your liking. The input guides will even change to reflect the control scheme you create! Now, this control scheme is slightly different from the classic DMC, but pretty much everything that could be done in DMC can still be done with DmC's controls... *Attacks and Abilities that use different weapons are done by simply holding in one of the "Shift" triggers and pressing a corresponding button, like using + for a scythe attack. Releasing the trigger immediately changes back to Rebellion. Using the D-Pad for swapping weapons immediately places the new weapon in the arsenal, and can even be swapped out mid-combo. This effectively gives the player access to an increasingly high volume of weapon combinations, on par with or even surpassing what was available in DMC4 at any given time * and both being used for dodging was done because there are also Angel and Demon dodges with different effects, and this makes it easier on one's fingers to push + and + *There is no active Hard Lock button. This allows for more omnidirectional fighting. As such, attacks like Hightime are now mapped to the "Special Attack" button, but more applicably it might be called a "Vertical" attack button, since it's also used for dropping attacks like Helm Breaker. Overall, the Special Attack button's main use revolves around verticality, focusing on moving enemies or Dante up or down *Taunting was removed from the control scheme for reasons related to the narrative. The best example given was because if Dante were in an emotionally-charged, dramatic encounter, it would break the narrative flow, and seem out-of-place to have him become overly cocky when moments before he was sullen or serious Because of the controls, and some new features, gameplay has been slightly tweaked to accommodate. One of the largest differences is the greater emphasis on aerial combat, and being able to control positions with the use of the grappling chain, which acts much like an updated version of Nero's Devil Bringer. Dante is given several different abilities with his weapons which he can use to preserve his airtime and keep enemies caught in devastating aerial combos. Dante is also able to pull enemies to himself, or vice versa, using the Demon Pull and Angel Lift abilities, which can be used to gather up enemies, or otherwise escape from unfavorable situations. Gregaman explains more of the combat in some videos he made... *DmC: Devil May Cry - Combat Overview Pt1 *DmC: Devil May Cry - Combat Overview Pt2 Pull and Lift are also used in DmC's other gameplay accentuation; platforming. In the classic series, much of Dante's time was spent running from area to area battling demons to progress forward, and finding new pathways to get closer to his goal. In DmC, because of how Limbo can twist the city into setpieces normally not seen until Dante reaches the Underworld in older games, Dante will also be jumping and grappling along platforms as well. Limbo will also attempt to impede Dante at numerous turns, cutting off pathways with walls or trying to crush Dante by closing alleys he runs through. This feature is known as Malice, and it's a key component to how the dimension of Limbo works. Tameem Antoniades explained that Malice acts as a sort of immune system in Limbo that spawns demons (enemies) and Demonic Shards (whole pieces of the world that break away to attack) to kill intruders. It was also said to be a more in-depth explanation for why doorways would be blocked off in the classic games. Malice is also responsible for the drastic environmental changes the levels receive as Dante progresses, due in part to the powerful demons that control Limbo also holding considerable sway over Malice itself. Dante's Devil Trigger is also slightly different. Instead of having a fully demonic transformation, his hair becomes flushed white and his coat turns blood-red, and he is afforded a small amount of control over Limbo, allowing DT's activation to pop smaller enemies into the air with reduced gravity, or otherwise give Dante a small edge over his enemies. DT still grants more strength, speed, and regenerates lost vitality when in use. DmC is being developed on the Unreal Engine 3, instead of Capcom's MT Framework that was used in DMC4. This was done as UE3 is a very easy engine to work with, and can be tweaked and modified extensively to fit with what the developer wants out of their game world. NT is extremely familiar with UE3, and given the time frame in which they were to complete DmC, they could not spend more time learning to operate on a Japanese engine. The game will also be running at a locked 30 frames-per-second, as opposed to DMC's usual 60fps. This, however, does not affect gameplay speed at all. Framerate was locked due in part to the addition of the environments being much more animated than previous DMCs. In order to avoid incurring unnecessary lag in animation and controls, it was locked at 30fps so that choppy framerates wouldn't arise during combat. The downside to a high framerate can be that if too much is being animated on the screen at one time, framerate can drop low enough to incur choppy animations. Locking it at 30fps means that while the game could very well be running at 60fps, you're only seeing half of that, but at the same time the chance for framerate lag is much lower. For those without a frame of reference for what "Frames-per-second" means, it's the number of animation frames that are shown within one standard second. Games with high framerates often look much smoother because you're seeing more active frames of animation. As an example, the classic Stinger and DmC's Stinger could both take Dante one second to move ten feet from point A to point B, but since the classic Stinger is running at 60fps, you're seeing more of Dante's movement than you are at 30fps, despite both attacks lasting the exact same duration, and covering the exact same amount of distance from A to B. The only thing that a locked 30fps could possibly affect is how tight the window for "Just" inputs are, where input is required within only a small number of frames. Regardless of the framerate, Capcom has had a small group of their own developers led by Hideaki Itsuno, working alongside NT to show them their design philosophies, and ensure that DmC "has the feel of a 60fps DMC game," as they said, and also still retains the crazy, over-the-top combat DMC is known for. Some claim that framerate still drops below 30 on PlayStation 3 demo, although my own system has never dropped the framerate while playing. The only points when framerate has dropped was during cutscenes (although not by much), and a slight hiccup in sound during the loading screen. These are also demo impressions, which in all likelihood may not be apparent in the retail build of the game. The guys over at ps360frame have taken the demo to task on both PS3 and 360 measuring the framerate of Secret Ingredient's battle with Poison. For the most part the 360 version holds at 30fps, sometimes dropping slightly lower during cutscenes, while the PS3 versions holds steady at around 28fps, sometimes dropping to as low as 20fps for small instances during cutscenes. The reason for these drops is unknown since it's supposed to be locked at 30fps. Maybe the demos aren't locked, for whatever reason, who knows? The fact remains that it does not drastically drop for extended periods during gameplay like what is usually thought of during framerate dips. Remarks about DmC's slower overall speed compared to other DMCs is mostly unsubstantiated at this time, and there are just as many claims from people who have played the game saying that speed isn't any different as much as there are saying it is slower. As usual, you'll have to take what anyone says about this with a grain of salt until you're able to play it for yourself. With the demo available, many repeat their claims, so it seems this is much more of personal element, and from personal experience, if it is slower, it isn't by much at all in any starkly noticeable way. ChaserTech and 8bitHero do their best to see what's what in the gameplay speed department, comparing gameplay of the DmC public demo to Devil May Cry 4's PC incarnation (no Turbo Mode, of course). As it would seem, DmC is on par with the speed the franchise is known for (barring DMC2), but some moves with classic counterparts differ slightly, and as ChaserTech points out, there's the slight pause at the end of each step in a combo for whatever reason. These pauses tend to make it feel slightly slower. The background music for DmC will be somewhat similar to the classics, with its mixture of heavy guitar and synthesized notes, as well as some more dramatic gospel-like tunes. However, instead of one or two tracks made in-house that are repeated throughout the game's combat events, DmC will match its contemporary setting with contemporary musical groups like Noisia and Combichrist, offering up a wider range of songs heard in the background and at different combat events throughout the game. The music still attempts to retain the slightly darker, rock-like feel that most DMC music is known for. What's the same? Despite all these differences, there are still plenty of things that are similar to the classic DMCs and in suit with NT and Capcom's desire to stay true to the "franchise DNA." Story Elements What little consistent story DMC possessed has been retained as much as possible with DmC's characters and other elements. You have all the major players like Dante, Vergil, Sparda, and Mundus, as well as the plethora of demons and other story-related bosses, along with series staples like the Amulet, Yamato, and things like Dante and Vergil being the twin sons of Sparda and Eva, Mundus ruling over the demonic realm, Dante separated from his mother and brother at an early age, and Sparda's usual absence. For the small few of those still worried over Dante's black hair, many videos have depicted his hair becoming more white as the story progresses, as patches of lighter hair form from the crown of his head (even from the initial announcement trailer). This could possibly lead to an all-white haircolor by the end of the game, signaling Dante's full control over the magic he possesses. NT has even explained that there is a reason for many of the things you see in DmC, like his hair, so we'll have to play the game and experience the story to fully understand. Gameplay Gameplay itself remains largely unchanged as well, except for how much more open the combat itself has become due to the new controls. Combat is still focused on creating crazy, over-the-top combos for taking out enemies with style, whereupon the player will receive Red Orbs based on their current rank when they defeat enemies. Red Orbs and the game's new "upgrade points" (official name unknown yet) will then be used at Divinity Statues to purchase items and upgrades to expand Dante's skillset more. As Dante collects White Orbs, they will build up and count as one full upgrade point when a certain number are collected. While browsing the "upgrade shop," you can actually try out new moves before you buy them, and you can purchase upgrades to increase the damage or effectiveness of existing moves. You can even refund moves you have previously purchased to spend the Upgrade Points on something more desirable, although you cannot sell the default upgrades Dante starts the game with. The story is still segmented into Missions, which can be revisited at any time just like the older games. The story itself is said to take roughly 10 to 12 hours to complete, although high-level players could complete it in less time. With a larger emphasis on traversal, each Mission also includes spots off the beaten path where the player will find secrets, Lost Souls, which are collected to boost your Mission ranking, much like secret deposits of Red Orbs and Red Orb Crystals do, as well as Keys. There will also be a number of "Secret Doors" to find in each mission, which can be opened with bronze, silver, gold, and platinum keys. Opening these doors allows the player to tackle Secret Missions, and earn Green Cross Fragments (DmC's version of Blue Orb Fragments) to increase Dante's Vitality. The game still accentuates the use of multiple weapons in creating long and devastating combos, and with being able to hold the triggers for changing to Angel or Demon mode, swapping between Dante's Rebellion, and an angelic or demonic weapon is made fluid and easy (according to those who have played the game/demo). Each weapon has a handful of abilities, and there are several that can be used outside of combat, helping Dante traverse areas by pulling out platforms, smashing walls, or using the Skystar-styled "Angel Glide" to avoid pits. Here is a list of all known weaponry, and their alignment... *Ebony & Ivory Human *Revenant (Shotgun) Human *Kablooey Human *Rebellion Human *Ophion Whip Chain *Osiris Angel *Aquila Angel *Arbiter Demon *Eryx Demon The list is comprised of weapons we know of from gameplay and artwork, and some more added in based on the achievements list. It's possible more could be available in the game, but as of now three fireams, five melee weapons, and the two grappling tools is a fairly acceptable arsenal, given the classic series' highest arsenal count was DMC3 with five firearms and five Devil Arms. Even DMC4, which gave you access to all of Dante's weapons, only had three firearms and three Devil Arms. All weapons can be swapped out on the fly with the d-pad as well, meaning that while you have four active weapons (Rebellion, angelic weapon, demonic weapon, and a firearm), you can easily swap one out for another, even mid-combo, like swapping through hits from Eryx, then back to Arbiter. This ends up making the game much more open, and a bit more streamlined than what Dante could do in DMC4, having to cycle through his weapons. Jump Canceling also makes a reappearance in DmC, and has been shown off in several streams and trailers. Other forms of canceling have also been shown off, like Dodge Cancels to preserve airtime, and an aerial Shot Cancel with the shotgun for two quick blasts. Here's a video showing off different Jump Cancels from the demo build of the game. Of note is that the timing for Jump Canceling is different in DmC than it was in the classics. It's now less about frame-specific input, and more about timing depending on the weapon used, like a proper game mechanic. Using Enemy Step also seemingly resets an enemy's falling animation, meaning they'll float for a brief moment before falling. While Styles won't be returning, the abilities of the different Styles will. If you took a peek at the weapons' abilities, you can see many returning in similar, if not the same forms. Rain Storm is still intact, as are moves like Fireworks, Prop Shredder, Over Drive, Aerial Rave, Trickster's moves, as well as others. We still haven't seen everything yet either, so more may arise as the game gets closer to release. Of important note is that DmC once again makes use of the series' standard "pause combos," where different attacks can be used by pausing in-between attack inputs for different results. Many feared that the game would use the "dial-a-combo" system of past NT games and more recent Ninja Gaiden games, where inputting different combinations of multiple attack keys resulted in different combos, but this is not the case. DmC continues the trend of pause combos that the DMC franchise is known for. With all these new options available at almost all times, we can't forget about how that variety affects the player's Stylish Rank. Slightly modified from the classic DMCs, DmC's Style meter is a bit more informative. Aside from popping up your current grade on the HUD, it also tells the player the current move being done, how many points towards the Style meter it gives, and some other modifiers like perfect parries or dodges, or killing multiple enemies at once. With this new level of feedback, it allows the player to modify their combat to get the most style they can. Other than those changes in the amount of feedback the Style system gives, it is pretty much just like the classics', requiring the player to vary the skills they use, avoid attacks, and exploit openings in enemies' defenses. Being struck by an attack will instantly drop your rank down three grades, similar to DMC4. It was mentioned earlier on that the Style meter was also tied to the background music, where more and more of the score would come in the higher your Style grade became. It also infers a modest speed boost to the player once they reach an S rank and above, further incentivizing achieving a higher level of skill. Higher Style also causes enemies to become more aggressive, forcing the player to fight harder to keep the grade they already fought for. While it may seem easier to achieve a higher Style score than in the classic games, the fact that there are so many more options available to the player at any given moment has to be taken into consideration. The more varied a player's attacks are, the more Style they'll garner, and this is no different from watching absurd-level combo videos, where a variety of attacks, cancels, and grouping techniques are required. As the demo has released, many claim that the Style meter relies too heavily on damage from powerful attacks like the Arbiter's, especially using combinations of Demon Evade, which gives Dante a boost in power for dodging at the last moment, and Trinity Smash, which has Dante striking down three times in one attack. While possibly disheartening, many ignore the circumstances, precision, and risk in which something like that is done; using precision to gain a power boost from Demon Evade, risking damage from flanking enemies while using the slower Trinity Smash, and the circumstances of being able to group several enemies in the attack at once. This is really not all that different from the classics where grouping enemies and using riskier attacks with heavier costs have greater effects on yout Style meter. The rewards on this "Trinity SSSmash" may be a bit high, but it's still in line with things that were possible in the other DMCs. This also seems like less of a "travesty in game design" when it was possible to use Pandora's PF398-Revenge (the giant laser canon) to instantly blast through multiple enemies from any distance and acheive around an S rank from nothing. Both attacks offer high payouts for the risk of becoming a sitting duck, although Revenge allows Dante to jump out of the animation and attack from any range, while Trinity Smash requires Dante be close enough to enemies, and the attack locks him into the attack animation. In a recentQ&A segment at Capcom-Unity, Dom Matthews of NT explained that Style is effected more by the circumstance of the attack, and not exactly the damage, creating a risk and reward system; Whe you use an attack that keeps Dante locked into an animation for longer, it proportionally leaves him open for hits from other enemies. Timing your strikes correctly will award Style for the risks of taking damage and losing Style from getting hit while sill in an animation. While the boost to the meter may be a bit high, depending on who you talk to, there's more to it than just running in and hitting people with Arbiter. On the subject of the Style meter's behavior, another Q&A segment at Capcom-Unity provided a bit more insight about why the Style grade no longer disappears from inactivity; this was done both as a consolation to losing the Taunt system (which could be used to retain Style), and to allow the player to take small moments to reorganize stategies without being penalized, and to prevent rushing in carelessly simply to keep the grade up. Some fans were worried that the game may have been too dumbed down to accommodate for the casual market, and those fears were emphasized when demos of early builds were playable, and certain footage arose. Alex Jones of Capcom was asked about one particular concern (at right) in DmC's Eurogamer 2012 panel , which he replied simply with "Fixed." While concerns have arisen through the game's development, now that it's on the showfloors of gaming conventions, NT and Capcom have taken the feedback, and addressed those concerns while polishing the game before release. The evidence of their constant polishing can be seen throughout each of the streams where Greg Moore of Capcom-Unity plays more and more recent builds, as well as gameplay by NT's Dominic Matthews at DmC's convention panels. Glitches themselves that have been shown off from demo footage aren't really a good reference to what the retail build will be, as demos themselves are portions of gameplay removed from the larger build, which can cause unforeseen coding glitches that don't necessarily arise in the full build. These early demos give players a good idea of what a game has to offer, but shouldn't really be accepted as how the final game will be, especially when considering how much of the "polishing" has changed things between builds. If anything, finding glitches in the demo is some welcome help in refining the game before its release. Speaking of gameplay, while you might be tempted to look at camera footage of players on the showcase floors, watching streams directly from Capcom-Unity and convention panels provides a much better display of the level of play possible in the game. This list starts from the most recent stream available... *Capcom-Unity Stream "Devil's Daliance" on SoS to DMD Comparison Pt2 *Capcom-Unity Stream "Devil's Daliance" on SoS to DMD Comparison Pt1 *Capcom-Unity Stream "Under Watch" on Dane Must Die mode w/ Aquila gameplay *New York Comic-Con 2012 "Overturn" combat during the DmC Panel *New York Comic-Con 2012 "Nightclub" Gameplay w/ Samurai Devastator weapon pack *TGS 2012 DmC: Devil May Cry Special Stage "Subway" Gameplay Presentation *PAX PRime 2012 "Overturn" Demo Gameplay *GamesCom 2012 "Under Watch" Combat Mechanics Gameplay *E3 2012 "Under Watch" Demo Stream *E3 2012 "Under Watch" Demo with creative director Tameem Antoniades As stated in several of the streams, while footage of DmC from showfloor demos might make the game seem much easier than past DMC games, the demo builds have been set to one of the easiest difficulties in order to allow anyone stepping up to the game from the showfloor to get into it a bit easier, acting sort of as "tutorial" builds. Any of the footage from the listed streams that could be conceived as "easy," consideration must be given to the fact that the players, especially Greg of Capcom-Unity and Dom of NT, have been tasked with practicing DmC for months on end. So while it could be said that DmC might look easy, it's because Greg and Dom make it look easy. Greg himself is also an avid DMC fan, his favorite being the non-special edition of DMC3 (which is said to be the more difficult version). In contrast to the high level of play in the streams, where Style is garnered and maintained for much of the combat, here are examples of the more recent build (Eurogamer 2012) of DmC, where simply attacking over and over with little variation leads to poor Style... *Eurogamer 2012 Cam Gameplay part 1 *Eurogamer 2012 Cam Gameplay part 2 *Eurogamer 2012 Cam Gameplay part 3 Only ever managing to eke by into the B grade for a moment because of some slight juggling or by catching multiple enemies with attacks, seeing this less-than-stylish gameplay without attack variance, weapon swapping, aerial combos, and avoiding damage shows that variety, quick execution of skills, and exploiting openings are still the only primary source of garnering higher Style. In the stream with Tameem Antoniades, it is mentioned that NT recognizes the combat difficulty as a major factor in the franchise's popularity. In an attempt to preserve that level of challenge, DmC was built upon one of its highest difficulties, and then dumbed down from there for each of the lower difficulties. Whether or not the game is truly as easy as people claim it is, we'll need the full release to decide. On the topic of difficulties, as of November 1st 2012, it has been revealed that the game will come with a score of different difficulty modes, a total of seven in all, with the higher difficulties drastically changing how the player approaches the game... *'Human '- Easy *'Devil Hunter' - Normal *'Nephilim '- Hard *'Son of Sparda' - Remixed enemy layouts, tougher enemies and enemy behavior throughout *'Dante Must Die' - As above, but contains the strongest enemies and insane attack waves *'Heaven or Hell' - Another remixed mode, but everyone and everything, including Dante, dies after one hit *'Hell or Hell' - The same as above, but only Dante dies after one hit. For serious contenders ...each of the four hardest difficulties (Son of Sparda and onward) are unlocked by completing the game on the difficulty that precedes it. Many DMC fans may remember many of these difficulty modes, especially the higher ones like Dante Must Die and the instant killing, high-risk Hell or Hell mode. Other features have also been asked about, like the Bloody Palace, but NT and Capcom haven't been able to discuss them, as is per usual with a game still in development. At Eurogamer 2012, it was mentioned that DmC would come with some "novelty modes" to play after the story is completed. The only known mode outside of the regular campaign so far is a Training module, which tracks the player's currently executed move, and lists what other moves (and their inputs) can be done from there. Bloody Palace was mentioned by Motohide Eshiro, saying "We probably want to have it in," hinting that the announcement of its inclusion is on its way. As of January 9th, Gregaman over at Capcom-Unity announced Bloody Palace's inclusion in DmC. It will be a free DLC update for the game available shortly after the game's initial launch, and will require the player have previously completed the game to unlock it. DmC's Bloody Palace sports over a hundred levels of survival-based combat against anything and everything you faced in the story. Turbo Mode was confirmed by Dom Matthews to not be included in the game, although there is hope for the PC version through mods, of course. DLC? In my DmC? On November 12th, Capcom unveiled Vergil's Downfall, DLC content telling a side-story of what happens to Vergil after the events of DmC, in which Vergil himself is playable. In the announcement video, Vergil is shown as the player's character, and has many of the skills and abilities he had previously in DMC3; many Iaido techniques, Slash Dimension, Air Trick, and Summoned Swords, along with some new skills like creating a double of himself to assist in his attacks. This is quite different from DMC3's character swap and retread of Dante's journey up through Temen-Ni-Gru; Vergil's Downfall is an actual campaign. As of now,'' the DLC is free'' for anyone who has pre-ordered DmC at GameStop and EB Games, through the EU PSN, or the Son of Sparda special edition. The Demons Are Amongst Us There is also a tie-in smartphone application called The Eye of Dante, which lets users take pictures of certain things and "reveal the demonic influence behind them." Completeing missions from "The Order's blog" can earn the player unlockables like wallpapers, and most importantly Red Orbs that can be transferred to DmC itself for use at Divinity Statues. Further Looks Journalism *GameTrailers 2012 Creative Director / Producver Interview *Five hours with DmC: Devil May Cry *DmC: Devil May Cry Achievement/Trophy List (spoilers) *DmC: Devil May Cry SCE Japan Event with Motohide Eshiro *DmC: Devil May Cry PlayStation Access Dev Talk with Tameem Antoniades *DmC: Devil May Cry Performance Capture Diaries Pt1 *DmC: Devil May Cry Performance Capture Diaries Pt2 *DmC: Devil May Cry Performance Capture Diaries Pt3 *DmC: Devil May Cry OXM Gameplay Preview *How Ninja Theory is changing Devil May Cry *IGN Playthrough - Nephilim Origins (spoilers) *IGN Playthrough - Triggering the Devil (spoilers) Player Content *DmC: Devil May Cry - Combo Video (courtesy of AngelMode) *DmC: Devil May Cry - Combat Highlights (courtesy of AngelMode) *DmC Demo - Short Combos - Player:LeoXCV *DmC コンボ三つ (courtesy of n472a) *DmC combo movie (courtesy of Nisannka) *DmC Demo - "Metal and GO" *─═DmC═─ Combo Mad ─═Demo═─ *DmC: Devil May Cry - Cancel Compilation At the end of the day... Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I hope this was able to inform those who were curious or skeptical, and help them come to a more informed judgment. I, myself, have a buddy who got to play one of the more recent demos at a GameStop manager's conference, and he had played all the classic DMCs as well, just like me. He said that while the controls take some getting used to, the game is still very much DMC, but with more emphasis on manipulating positions, and its different art style. I trust his judgment on this. Now that the demo is available, and I've gotten to play it for myself, and along with everything that I've seen and read about DmC has made me interested enough to want to purchase the game. I suppose I could note that my interest in the game primarily comes from a point that I just love games, it's my hobby, and this one looks interesting and is very entertaining to me. The fact that it happens to be tied to one of my favorite franchises in some way is just a great extra bonus, and it'll be interesting to fully see NT's interpretations of DMC's concepts and themes. However, that's purely my stance, why I'm interested in the game, and why I support it. If you're able to embrace change, or otherwise accept that this DmC has little to no affect on the classic DMC, you might be able to enjoy the game. Of course, if you've already written off the game because of its changes, or what someone from the dev teams said, or feeling that you've been completely wronged in some contrived way, I really won't be able to change your mind anyway, and it just makes me wonder why you wasted so much time bothering to read this O_o Once again I hope this was enough to inform you of everything you needed to know about the upcoming DmC: Devil May Cry'', out on January 15th''' for PS3 and 360. As of November 20th a demo was released as well, so look to the PSN and XBL to pick it up. It comes with two missions, one of which is a boss fight, four difficulties, and some secrets to scour levels for! '''''Keep it stylish, everyone! Category:Blog posts